Disease

Yemen cholera and diphtheria

While the cholera outbreak appears to be slowing in war-torn Yemen, with the number of cases closing in on 1 million since April, diphtheria has raised it’s ugly head in the country for the first time in a quarter century and even longer since the last outbreak.

According to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), as of Dec. 4, 318 suspected cases of diphtheria and 28 deaths had been reported in 15 of Yemen’s 20 governorates. Half the suspected cases are children between the ages of five and 14, and nearly 95 per cent of deaths are children under 15. Nearly 70 per cent of all suspected cases are in Ibb governorate.